Review: Two Feet Under by Charlie Cochrane

Title: Two Feet Under

Series: Lindenshaw Mysteries: Book Three

Author: Charlie Cochrane

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Length: 328 Pages

Category: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense

At a Glance: These books are witty, the banter between the MCs entertaining, and the mystery is always just that, a mystery to be solved. I highly recommend them.

Reviewed By: Carrie

Blurb: Things are looking up for Adam Matthews and Robin Bright—their relationship is blossoming, and they’ve both been promoted. But Robin’s a policeman, and that means murder is never far from the scene.

When a body turns up in a shallow grave at a Roman villa dig site—a body that repeatedly defies identification—Robin finds himself caught up in a world of petty rivalries and deadly threats. The case seems to want to drag Adam in, as well, and their home life takes a turn for the worse when an ex-colleague gets thrown out of his house and ends up outstaying his welcome at theirs.

While Robin has to prove his case against a manipulative and fiendishly clever killer, Adam is trying to find out which police officer is leaking information to the media. And both of them have to work out how to get their home to themselves again, which might need a higher intelligence than either a chief inspector or a deputy headteacher.

Review: This book begins with Robin and Adam settling into new jobs. With the conclusion of that other business in Lindenshaw, they both have started anew in their respective professions. Adam has moved from Lindenshaw St. Crispins to Culdover Church of England Primary School. He’s become a deputy head-teacher, and he couldn’t be more ecstatic. Robin has moved from his old precinct to Abbotston, where he is the acting chief inspector while the current man with the job is out for a while. Getting away from Stanebridge and all that happened there is a welcome change for Adam, and he has high hopes that the temporary position will become permanent. We do get some secondary characters that have moved on with Robin and Adam, both from Robin’s old job. His newly minted sergeant is Pru, and his unwelcome houseguest is Anderson, his old sergeant from Stanebridge.

There’s a dead body. Of course there is a dead body! But who is she? Aaaand, this is where Charlie Cochrane excels. I didn’t get it, didn’t see it coming. Adam and Robin and, of course, Campbell are once again all three involved in Robin’s police work. Remember, these stories are mysteries wherein the characters involved happen to be gay. They are not romances even though our MCs met and fell in love within their pages, and their relationship is adorable. Cochrane weaves a police procedural that reminds me of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock television series. There are layers here, and not just of dirt on top of our corpse. Added to the mystery of this one is a houseguest that just won’t leave, and with a conundrum that only the dog, Campbell, can solve. Good old Campbell, I love that dog as a secondary character, and he plays his role so well.

The lies, the manipulations, the intrigue! This story has them all in spades. Nothing is face value and the shady characters abound. The farther you get in the story, the more you realize that you are left with one too many viable suspects and wondering what clues you obviously missed which would point you in the direction of the killer. But in the end, all hypotheses are supported, and you’ll face-palm and say, “Of course that’s who it was!”

The cover art by L.C. Chase is once again spot-on with the story, and Campbell steals the spotlight all the time anyway, so why not the cover of the book?! I totally enjoyed revisiting murder with these characters, and I am really hoping that this series continues. I adore how very British they are, and Cochrane is a master at creating time and place, mixing them with good, solid characterizations and police procedurals.

“It’ll make sense in the end.” Adam began to plate up their food. “Like a jigsaw when you can’t see where a particular bit goes until you’ve got the ones that fit round it. Then you say, ‘Bloody hell, I never realized it went there!’”

Each of the stories in this series is a standalone. You could pick them up individually and read them, but start with the first to get Adam and Robin’s love story from the beginning. These two met, fell in love, and now are thinking about the future amidst all the chaos and colorful people in their lives. These books are witty, the banter between the MCs entertaining, and the mystery is always just that, a mystery to be solved. I highly recommend them.

You can buy Two Feet Under here:
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